Method of making concrete tiles



-lnTHoD oF MAKING coNcnnTE TILES Filed Jan. 17.31924l l. l -l l Patented J an. 19, 1926.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

METHOD OF MAKING CONCRETE TILES.

Application led January 17, 1924. Serial No. 686,871.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, ARTHUR G. HATCH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Duluth, in the county of St. Louis and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods of Making Concrete Tiles, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a new and improved concrete tile or shingle and method of making the same, and more particularly to a tile and a method whereby tile may be made in large quantities with a small expenditure of labor and with relatively small space requirements for the manufacture.

In the making of concrete tile as here tofore practiced, it has generally been considered` necessary to have a relatively large lay-out in order to provide large space for pouring the tile and permitting them to sufficiently set before removal from the forms. The tile have normally required to remain in the forms such a length of time as to require an excessive number of forms in order to produce tiles on a commercial scale. i

Concrete tile, as now generally constructed, are susceptible of breakage unless carefully handled and placed and are, moreover, diflicult to secure and maintain in place.

`It is an object of this invention to provide a new and improved design of tile which may be readily manufactured in quantities at small cost.

It is a further object to provide a tile which' may be easily placed and positively secured in place and in which the relation of juxtaposed tile is such as to render a substantially water-tight construction adapted to adequately carry the necessaryloads.

It is an additional object to provide a method for producing such tile whereby the tile may be produced in large quantities in a plant of comparatively small area and whereby the set of the tile may be expedited.

i It is a further object to provide a method whereby tile may be provided with a colored surface inthe course of manufacture.

Other and further objects will appear' as the description proceeds.

Broadly, my tlile comprises a body portion, a portion of which is specially formed for proper bearing contact upon the roof upon which it is to be placed. It is further provided with adequate bearing surfaces for contact with `adjacent tile both above and below. In the method of construction, the tile are made in gang molds placed one above the other, pressure being supplied to properly distribute and compact the moldforming material. The mold members also preferably serve as pallets for handling the tile. tion, heat is applied externally to the molds to expedite the set of the concrete.

I have illustrated certain preferred embodiments of my invention in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a fragmentary section showing tile in place upon a roof;

Figuref is a plan view, partly broken away, of a lower mold member;

Flgure 3 is a section taken on line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a plan View, partly broken away, of an upper mold member;

Figure 5 is an edge view of Figure 4;

Figure 6 is an end view of Figure 4 upon an enlarged scale; t

Figure 7 is a cross section showing several form members assembled together; and

Figure 8 is a view showing an apparatus used in the formation of the tile.

As best shown in Figure l, the tile comprises a body portion l1 having at one edge an upwardly extending portion 12. This portion 12 is provided with notches 13 adapted to receive clips 14 which clips are secured to the roof and serve to hold the tile in place. That part of the body portion located below and adjacent the up-` wardly extending portionl is chamfered to provide a bearing surface 15 adapted to rest upon the roof 16. The chamfered portion 15 is provided with grooves 17 adapted to permit the passage of moisture along the roof surface.

The lower end of the tile is provided with the downwardly extending portion 18 adapted to overhang the upwardly extending bearing portion of the juxtaposed tile. The lower surface of the portion 18 is adapted to engage the upper surface of the next tile. Each tile 11 is `of such length asjjto correspond to a number of tile or shingle of normal width. The tile is marked with a plurality of equally spaced transverse grooves 19 upon its upper surface, these grooves serving to render the In the preferred method of construc- V single tile similar in general appearance to a plurality of tile. The tile are preferably re-inforced by wire mesh 20 which adds materially to their strength.

W'here adjacent tile meet, end to end, fiashing strips 21 are placed under the meeting line. These strips, as shown in the figure, are retained in place by having an tip-turned portion 21 which extends upwardly against the upper edge of the tile.

Gang molds are provided for making the tile in my preferred method of construetion. Such a lower gang mold is shown in Figures 2 and 3, this mold being capable of holding four tile. The downwardly depressed portions 23 of the mold serve to form the downwardly extending portions 18 of the tile. The space 24: between these portions 23 is preferably filled with plaster of Paris or some similar material. rlhe body of the mold is formed of sheet metal supported upon a wooden frame 25. A plurality of strips of flat metal 26 are secured to the sloped portions 27 of the mold these strips forming the grooves 17 in the bearing portion 15 of the tile.

An upper mold member is shown in Figures 4 to 6. This member preferably consists of a wooden plank 2S, secured to the upper surface of which are metal strips 29 having the over-hanging and folded under ends 30. These portions 30 serve to form the grooves 18 which latter serve to receive the holding clips 14. Secured to the lower surface of the members 28 are the rounded beads 31. These beads 31 serve to form the upper division grooves 19 upon the tile.

lhe method of assembling the molds is clearly shown in Figure 7. A lower mold member has the reinforcing mesh 20 placed therein and is then filled with concrete. The separate upper mold members are next put in place, the ends 30 of the strips bearing against the outer frame 25 and the inner ends of the beads 3l bearing against the oint 2st between the depressed portions 23.

he other upper form members are similarly placed, four such members f1tting in each lower gang mold of the type shown.

A second lower mold member is next placed upon the first mold assembly. As clearly appears from Figure 7, the downwardly extending portions 23 t between adjacent upper mold members and aid in maintaining them properly in place. The second upper mold member is next filled with concrete, its upper mold members placed upon it and the rocess is continued until a pile of molds o sufficient height is secured. The concrete readily fills all the inequalities of the surface of each lower mold member and each up er mold member is forced down against t ie concrete with suflicient pressure to cause the concrete to lill all the inequalities formed by such mold members.

Before filling the molds, they are preferably brushed with oil in order to prevent the tile from adhering to the mold when the concrete has set. Should it be desired to give a colored or variegated finish to the tile, the coloring matter or stone chips or other material are dusted upon the oil coated molds before filling them, the oil serving to retain the material in place.

In a pile of filled and assembled molds, the weight of' the upper molds gives sufficient pressure to adequately form the lower tile. However, in order to give adequate pressure to the upper molds, it is sometimes desirable to provide a press 32 such as is somewhat diagrammatically shown in Figure 8. The several mold assemblies are placed between the standards of the press and the pressure member is forced down upon the top of the stack of molds by means of the screw-threaded bar 3G.

In order to hasten the set of the concrete, I have found it desirable to cover the stack of molds with a paulin 37 and to further provide the pipes 3S for carrying a heating medium such as steam adjacent the molds. The paulin serves to hold in the heat afforded by the steam in the pipes and this heat greatly increases the rapidity of the set of the concrete.

Vihile my process is particularly adapted for the construction of tile of the type shown. it is obviously capable of the formation of tile of varying configuration. It is my intention to cover all modifications coming within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. The method of making concrete tile or the like which comprises the application of oil to suitable forms, the deposition of coloring material upon the oil film on the forms, and the placing of plastic concrete in the forms.

2. The method of making concrete tile or the like which comprises the application of oil to suitable forms, the de osition of coloring material upon the 011 film on the forms, the placing of plastic concrete in the forms, placing upper form members upon the concrete and applying pressure to said forms.

Signed at Duluth, Minn., this 9th day of January, 1924.

ARTHUR G. HATCH. 

